Baker draws criticism from tenants, landlords on housing assistance

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WJAR) — Massachusetts' ban on evictions and foreclosures is set to expire this weekend.

Protestors marched to Gov. Charlie Baker's home on Wednesday demanding additional legislation to prevent widespread evictions.

Homes for All Massachusetts and the Massachusetts COVID-19 Response Alliance organized the event.

It comes just days after Baker unveiled a $171 million initiative he says will help keep tenants in their homes and provide support for landlords.

Andres Del Castillo of Right to the City Boston says Baker's new housing initiative just doesn't cut it.

"Governor Baker's plan is a complete abdication of his responsibilities. His plan assumes that we're going to be able to revamp an entire court legal infrastructure by Monday, completely unfeasible and completely unrealistic," he said. "Home is a critical part of how we are surviving this pandemic and to put that under threat is grossly irresponsible."

Protestors are demanding he pledge his support for the Guaranteed Housing Stability Act, which would protect tenants from eviction for up to a year and create a relief fund for small landlords once the state’s pause on evictions and foreclosures expires on Saturday.

Agencies that help with finding and keeping housing, like PACE in New Bedford, say they're noticing an uptick in housing concerns, too.

"With the deadline coming up on Saturday, people are really worried about how they're going to manage going forward," said PACE Executive Director Pam Kuechler. "They're concerned about maintaining or catching up. It's definitely taken an uptick."

On Monday, Baker announced a new Eviction Diversion Initiative providing additional funding for rehousing programs, legal services, counseling. It will also bring back judges to handle case load and help mediate agreements between tenants and landlords.

However, some landlords say they've been overlooked these past seven months, not expecting it to have any meaningful impact on them.

"People are home more, they're using their utilities more. They are using a lot more water. Their appliances are going out more. I've probably replaced more appliances in the last four months than I have in the last four years," said Lisa White, a landlord of multiple properties in New Bedford.

White estimates she's lost $10,000 to 20,000 because of the pandemic.

She said if nothing changes for landlords, properties may be less maintained or there will be more interest in selling.

"People pay late and you want to be mindful and accommodating to them, but the mortgage is always due and the taxes. There's a lot of fines as well. The expenses keep mounting," White said.